African Hunter Published Books Campfire Tales Volume 3 of 20 | Page 7

second one if we got lucky early. In addition there was a lioness
on permit, though this was not really ideal lion country. But given
the past record of Sij, we were mentally prepared to struggle for
the first buffalo, and other options were on the backburner till
then. We were hunting during the full moon period, which did
nothing to shorten the odds in our favour. Given this background,
we had decided that we would go for a good bull even if it was the
first day, as a seven day hunt did not give much scope for being
choosy.
The Ngamo Camp at Sijarira must surely be one of the prettiest
settings in Zimbabwe, and it was a welcome sight after a long drive
from Gourlays Ranch near Turk Mine. The first afternoon was
spent in putting up some kudu bait for the lioness. The short drive
to the northern end of the concession failed to show up any fresh
buffalo spoor. An early morning start next day saw us cover about
forty kilometres without any signs of fresh spoor, and by ten thirty
we were back in the vicinity of the camp. Considering the distance
covered so far and on the previous day, it seemed Sijarira was
keen on holding its reputation intact. But around eleven o’clock,
our luck took a turn for the better. Fresh tracks, and within a few
kilometres of the camp. We started tracking, and though we caught
up with the herd within half an hour, it had probably sensed our
presence and kept moving. At this point, Dean took the decision
to back off and let them settle down, so it was back to camp for a
quick bite.
Four o’clock saw us back on the trail, and this time it was slowgoing as the buffalo were again moving, and not very far ahead of
us. For a first buffalo, this hunt was turning out to be everything
the book said! The fresh signs, the smell when the wind was
right, the oxpeckers, and finally, the first sighting of the buffalo at
around 6pm. It had taken us two hours, yet the distance covered
could not have been more than five kilometres. It took another ten
African Hunter Magazine - Campfire Tales, Volume Three

Page 7